State to Unveil Detroit Demolition Plan

By

Matthew Dolan

Aug. 1, 2012 5:41 p.m. ET

DETROIT—Michigan's governor plans to unveil a new urban policy Thursday aimed at jumpstarting the demolition of thousands of vacant and abandoned homes in Detroit, further evidence of the state's more assertive role in the city's affairs.

Detroit, which lost a quarter of its population between 2000 and 2010, is estimated to have as many as 40,000 vacant and dangerous structures across its 139-square-mile spread. Such homes are a...